By Dana Cohen Mizrahi, Product Marketing Manager
at Sony Semiconductor Israel
Non-terrestrial
network (NTN) connectivity is making its way into IoT chipsets, enabling
connected devices and installations to be deployed anywhere. Some devices are
being outfitted with stand-alone chips that can only connect to satellites,
while others are using hybrid chipsets that support both terrestrial and
non-terrestrial connectivity.
Why NTN?
Legacy
cellular network deployments cover more than 80% of the population but less than 40% of land and less than
20% of Earth. Satellite connectivity has been used for years to provide
ubiquitous coverage. However, its high cost has limited use to very specific
scenarios, such as TV and broadcasting.
In the IoT domain, satellite connectivity has always been a last resort
alternative to terrestrial networks.
In
recent years, the cost of NTN solutions has dropped. As a result, it is
economically feasible to use NTN communication for IoT devices and start enable
answer the need of "communication everywhere." NTN has developed into a
communication channel of choice in various scenarios, including that of an
emergency communication network or offloading traffic from the terrestrial
networks during peak times. Industries such as automotive, energy
infrastructure, agriculture, maritime, railway, and more have the option to
enjoy true global communication.
Mountain
climbers, for example, often move from connected areas to areas outside of
cellular coverage. Extreme sports require having a connected device in the
event of an emergency, and hybrid cellular/NTN-connected devices can help in
those situations.
Remote
installations are also in need of satellite IoT. Maritime shipments, offshore
oil rigs, and trains typically find themselves outside of cellular range. NTN
can provide a reliable connection for monitoring and controlling these
installations, even in remote locations.
Over
the past few years, we have seen a number of new players in the space, many of
whom are developing their own technology. 3GPP developed standards to enable
the market to grow, for both broadband NTN and also for IoT-NTN- LTE-M &
NB-IoT. 3GPP has started with study items in releases 15 and 16, and included a
work item starting in release 17.
Looking at Satellite
IoT Trends
According
to IoT Analytics, the total number of satellite IoT subscribers
reached 5.1 million in 2021. It is forecast to grow at a 22% CAGR between
2021-2026, and is expected to reach 13.5 million subscribers by 2026.
Non-terrestrial
networks (NTN) are comprised of satellites - Geostationary Equatorial Orbit
(GEO), Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO), and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) - as well as
high-altitude platform systems (HAPS), which include unmanned airships or
airplanes above 20 km, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones.
All
satellite systems used to provide IoT/M2M communication services are based on
either GEO or LEO satellites. GEO constellations are more associated with
legacy satellite operators, while LEO satellite services are provided by a
combination of established and emerging satellite operators.
LEO
constellations are quickly becoming the preferred option for satellite
operators that offer IoT/M2M connectivity services. It offers far quicker and
cheaper network building and deployment, a better link budget, and higher
availability of orbit paths. Additionally, LEO offers better latency than GEO
due to the shorter distance to Earth.
GEO,
in contrast has the advantage that it provides a much larger cover area, which
also means it requires fewer satellites to deliver global coverage. GEO
satellites appear stationary when viewed from a fixed point on the ground, and
rotate at the same speed and direction of the earth. Ground antennas can
connect to the satellite by pointing at it, without needing to track its
position. This helps make using GEO technology relatively inexpensive, while at
the same time, these satellites have a much longer lifetime.
The
round-trip time for a GEO satellite is approximately 600-800 ms, while data
moves back and forth to a LEO satellite in the range of 30-50 ms. This would
make it seem like LEO constellations are better suited to real-time
applications. However, today's LEO satellite IoT networks have a limited number
of satellites in orbit. They are unable to provide continuous connectivity to
the entire world, but rather provide an intermittent, periodic coverage. This
means that data points can only be taken from IoT devices a few times every 24
hours as the satellites move around Earth. As a result, the latent GEO
constellations are often better suited to near real-time applications than LEO
constellations.
The Future of IoT NTN
The
future of NTN looks promising, as the technology continues to evolve and
improve. New technologies, such as low-power radio and advanced modulation
schemes, are being developed to improve the efficiency and reliability of NTN
connections. Additionally, companies are working on reducing the costs of
launching and maintaining LEO satellites, making it more accessible for
businesses of all sizes to use NTN for their IoT applications.
NTN
connectivity is an increasingly important technology for connecting devices in
remote and hard-to-reach areas. As the technology continues to improve and
costs decrease, we can expect to see more and more devices and applications
utilizing NTN connectivity in the future.
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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Dana Cohen Mizrahi expertly blends technical know-how with marketing acumen in her role at Sony Semiconductor Israel. Her journey from a Systems Engineer to a Product Marketing Manager, underpinned by her education in material engineering and an MBA in Business and Marketing, makes her a distinctive and authoritative voice in technology marketing.